Will Write for Sex?
By Tom Chandler on Feb 26, 2007 in Underground Entertainment
Kathy at the Screw You! blog (”Daily [or thereabouts] diatribes of a frenzied freelancer”) posted about a Craigslist ad for a female writer that ended on an ominous note:
Please send some info about yourself and a picture as possible.
Hmm. A picture? Apparently the male advertiser was looking for more than help with his grammar, hoping to conjugate a few verbs (nudge nudge, wink wink) in addition to working on his book.
Though one less-charitable friend suggested all the guy was really looking for was a modern PR agency, it’s interesting that someone would advertise for sex so openly.
Then again, with writers jumping on “opportunities” that return little but a pat on the head…
[tags]craigslist, screw you[/tags]
I couldn’t agree more that taking work for less than you are worth is humiliating. There is less pressure to allow oneself to be “screwed” if we do as you suggest often on this blog: proactively seek out work in areas we are passionate about. We become known in our niche and sought out for the value that others have already experienced in our writing.
When testing new areas I want to break into…that’s when I’ve been tempted to take those lower-paying jobs. Whenever I have given in, it’s been a disaster.
After my last round of low-cost abuse (EVER!) I made a sticky for over my desk that says DON’T DO IT, YOU’LL BE SORRY. It works. Now when I want to explore new ground, I identify an affiliate program that exists in that niche, and write a sales letter to play with approaches, study the results, and grow an email list. If a niche or product doesn’t pan out I still have my experience, my list, and my integrity. And I don’t feel like I was screwed.
Stacey DePolo | Mar 13, 2007 | Reply
The lower-paying jobs often turn into the biggest furballs–especially if you take even an ounce of “I’m working for nothing” resentment into the gig.
Tom Chandler | Mar 14, 2007 | Reply